Bobbin support stop



Get. 16, 1956 w. T. OSHlELDS BOBBIN SUPPORT STOP Filed June 50, 1955 ATTORNEYS W/LL/AM r O'SH/ELDS United States Patent BOBBIN "SUPPORT STOP William T. OShields, Clinton, S. C.

Application June 30, 1955, Serial No. 519,281

6 Claims. (Cl. 139251) This invention relates to automatic bobbin-changing looms, and in particular to the bobbin-changing mechanism thereof.

Conventional hopper stands or battery stands include swingably mounted bobbin supports adapted to support bobbins in transfer position. During bobbin transfer, the bobbin support is swingably displaced from normal bobbin supporting position, and then returned to normal position to support a succeeding bobbin in position for transfer. Return of the bobbin support to normal position is usually effected by a spring. The transfer stroke of the bobbin support away from normal position is quite rapid, and if the bobbin support moves too far it may hit the edge of the shuttle, causing wear and damage eventually resulting in yarn breakage, and the necessity to discard and replace the shuttle. It is also possible that if the bobbin support stroke is too great, it may not return to normal position in time to support the succeeding bobbin. The economic losses due to excessive shuttle wear, and/or malfunction of the bobbin-changing mechanism, may be consider-able.

Stops limiting the bobbin support stroke have been proposed previously. One such is illustrated in Shoesmith Patent Number 2,380,709, issued July 31, 1945. Prior stops of this nature, however, are short lived, and must be replaced at frequent intervals. Additionally, the prior devices are installed only with difllculty, and installation requires that the looms be taken out of production for one or more hours, and partial disassembly of the bobbin-changing mechanism.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved bobbin support stop of outstanding durability, readily and quickly adjustable to maintain optimum control over the length of the bobbin support stroke.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel bobbin support stop which may be installed on conventional looms in a minute or less, without disassembly thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide .a bobbin support stop adapted "to preclude shuttle damage and wear, and to insure optimum bobbin changing function at all times. Further objects will be in part evident and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention and the novel features thereof may best be made clear from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a conventional hopper stand, to which an exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been applied;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the exemplary stop, partly broken away and sectioned, and viewed from the outside thereof;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the device, partly broken away and sectioned, viewed from the opposite side thereof;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3, and

2,766,780 Patented Oct. 16, 1956 Figure 5 is a partial plan view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings in detail, Figure 1 illustrates a conventional hopper stand 10, of the type incorporated in, common high-speed automatic bobbineha-nging looms. The hopper stand carries a bobbin support 12, swingably mounted on the cap screw 14. The bobbin support is maintained in normal bobbin-supporting position by a spring 16, engaged to the bobbin support adjacent its lower end and extending therefrom to a stud 18. All of the elements previously described are conventional parts of standard looms.

My invention comprises an arm 20 divided preferably into inner and outer sections 22 land 24 respectively. The inner end of section- 22 is provided with a transverse bore 26 adapted to enclose the stud 18, and an Allen screw 28 or similar device may be provided in conjunction with the bore to fixedly mount the section 22 on the stud.

Adjacent its outer end, the outer surface of arm section 22 is formed into a rack 30 (see Figures 2 and 5), and approximately centrally of this rack the section 22 is apertured at 32. The outer end of arm section 22 is provided with an inwardly extending lip 34, adapted to support an outwardly facing stop 36. The stop 36 is made preferably of leather, but may be of resilient material, wood, metal or other material.

The outer arm section 24 is provided on the inner side of its inner end with a series of vertically extending teeth 38, adapted to engage the rack 30 at a variety of positions, and in the vicinity of the teeth 38 is provided with a longitudinally extending slot 40. At the outer end of section 24 is provided a transversely extending end Wall 42, from the top and bottom of which skirts 44 and 46 extend inwardly. From the inner edge of wall 42 a retaining wall 48 extends in inward direction, whereby the end wall 42, skirts 44 and 46, and the retaining wall 48 constitute with the section 24 a cubic pocket or receptacle for the stop 50, which preferably is a rubber block of moderate hardness. The inner side of the section 24 may be cut away at 52 (see Figures 3 and 4), to clear the bobbin support in its swinging movement. A bolt 54 is adapted to extend through slot '40of the section 24 and aperture 32 of arm section 22, and with a washer 56 and nut 58 to secure the arm sections together at .de'siredadjust ed position.

The assembled relationship of the device is illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings. The device may be mounted on the hopper stand quickly and conveniently, merely by detaching spring 16 from the stud 18. The bore 26 may then be passed over the stud, and the Allen screw 28 tightened against the stud to firmly mount the device in desired angular relationship relative to the bobbin support. After mounting the device on the stud 1 8,v the spring 16 may be again engaged to the stud outside the stop arm, and the installation is complete. The installation operation requires not over a minute, and may be perfiormed by a relatively unskilled attendant. It be noted particularly that the installation does not require the removal of the bobbin support, or any other disassembly of the bobbin-changing mechanism.

In operation, the stop 36 serves to limit the inward movement of the bobbin support toward the stud, whereby the normal support position of the bobbin is definitely established and maintained. The resilient stop 50 serves to limit the end of the bobbin support stroke in bobbin transfer, and prevent excess movement which might result in shuttle damage or impaired function of the bobbinchanging mechanism.

The resilient stop 50 may be subjected in prolonged use to deformation or packing," and may accordingly permit a progressively longer and longer stroke of the bobbin support. As an outstanding feature of the present ing of nut 58 then assures fixed retention of the outer arm and its stop 50 in desired adjusted relationship. It will be noted that in this adjustment, the position stop 36 is not varied. Obviously, the rack and tooth adjustable engaging arrangement between the arm sections may be replaced by similar mechanical expedients, or friction engagement exclusively may be relied on.

The adjustability of the relative position of the bobbin support stop 50 greatly prolongs'the useful life of the stop, and permits optimum control of the end of the bobbin support stroke over long periods. As will be evident, the stop 50 when worn out may be replaced in the arm 24 very readily, without removing the device completely from the loom. The outer section may be disengaged from the inner section by removing bolt 54, and replaced by a similar outer section with a new stop in it, or the same outer section may be replaced after removing the worn stop therefrom, and inserting a new stop therein. The principal bobbin support stop, then, is easily and quickly replaceable, and its adjustable mounting insures optimum operation of the bobbin-changing mechanism, and precludes shuttle damage. The device may be installed on looms without shutting down their operation, and its simplicity assures low cost, and long, rugged life. In older type looms which do not have a stud such as 18, a similar stud may be readily provided.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided by this invention a structure in which the various objects hereinbefore set forth, together with many practical advantages, are successfully achieved. As various possible embodiments may be made of the mechanical features of the above invention, all without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In an automatic bobbin-changing loom including a hopper stand and a bobbin support swingably mounted thereon, means comprising an arm mounted on the hopper stand, a stop carried by said arm limiting the movement of said bobbin support theretoward, and means for adjusting the position of said stop to controllably vary the end of the bobbin support stroke.

2. In an automatic bobbin-changing loom including a hopper stand and a bobbin support swingably mounted thereon, means comprising an extensible arm mounted on the hopper stand, a stop carried by said arm limiting the movement of said bobbin support theretoward, and means for adjustably extending said arm to controllably vary the end of the bobbin support stroke.

3. In an automatic bobbin-changing loom including a hopper stand and a bobbin support swingably mounted thereon, means comprising an extensible arm mounted on the hopper stand and extending beyond said bobbin support in direction generally parallel to its path of swinging movement, an inwardly facing stop carried by said arm adjacent its outer end limiting the movement of said bobbin support theretoward, and means for adjustably extending said arm to controllably vary the end of the bobbin support stroke.

4. In an automatic bobbin-changing loom including a hopper stand and a bobbin support swingably mounted thereon, means comprising an arm including two'sections, the first of said sections being mounted on the hopper stand, the second of said sections being engaged to said first section, a stop carried by said second section limiting the movement of said bobbin support theretoward, and means for adjusting the position of said second section relative to said first section to controllably vary the end of the bobbin support stroke.

5. In an automatic bobbin-changing loom including a hopper stand and a bobbin support swingably mounted thereon, means comprising an arm including two sections, the first of said sections being mounted on the hopper stand, the second of said sections being engaged to said first section and extending therefrom beyond said bobbin support in direction generally parallel to its path of swing ing movement, an inwardly facing stop carried by said second section adjacent its outer end limiting the movement of said bobbin support theretoward, and means for adjusting the position of said second section relative to said first section to controllably vary the end of the bobbin support stroke.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5, including a further,

stop mounted adjacent the end of said first section limiting the movement of said bobbin support in opposite direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

